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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Quilt Lover's Heart Giveaway

Today we are going to have a very Special Giveaway and as part of the Giveaway David and I will "PAY TRIBUTE" to our Mother's and CELEBRATE their LIVES by sharing bits and pieces from Dorothy and Adelaide's lives.

This is a long post but it will be worth it in the end. Thanks for reading!

(Left)Dorothy Mary Repia McKenzie Buss (February 1935-September 1992)

My mother was born in Maromaku, New Zealand in February of 1935 (North Island) born to Murdoch McKenzie and Isabella Heperi. She was the 2nd girl and 3rd child in their family. She followed in her older sister's footsteps and graduated with honor's from Nursing School. My mother met my father while he was serving an LDS mission for our church there in New Zealand. After his return to America he kept in contact with her and eventually proposed. Six months later she moved to America and eventually naturalized and became a citizen of the United States of America.

In December of 1957 my parents were married in Salt Lake City, Utah. Less than 2 years later they had to move back to Wisconsin to help his father on the farm because he had taken ill. During the 10 years they lived there my mother worked as a nurse and added 2 girls and 2 boys to their family.

In 1970 my mother received news that she had breast cancer at which time our family moved back to Utah where she received further treatment for cancer. During this time my mother continued working as a Registered Nurse at Utah Valley Hospital. It was amazing to me how many cancer patients she counseled and helped deal with their own mastectomies. My mother had a zest for life and loved people. One of my favorite memories from my childhood is remembering how she would bring people home that she had just met, either at work, the store, or the laundry mat. She didn't even know them but she soon learned that they needed help in some way and would bring them home for dinner. I was shy as a kid and remember being a bit embarrassed that she would openly approach people at the laundry mat. Our washing machine often broke which meant we'd have to go to the laundry mat. I think my mother loved it there because she loved helping people. I grew to admire this particular attribute that my mother possessed and have since tried to follow her example in my own life.

In September 1992 my mother's life on this earth ended after 3 weeks in intensive care resulting in complications from a routine surgery due to her intense medical history. It was her time to go and as a family we needed that time to figure it out and to let her move on. What a tender mercy from a loving Heavenly Father to feel such love and comfort at the time of her death and to reflect and to remember her life and how she lived it. Thanks Mom! I love you with all of my HEART!!!! She was very happy to be a grandmother and loved and adored each of her 8 grandchildren. We have since added 8 more grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren to her posterity.

January 15, 1999 -- My Birthday Party at David’s and Rosie’s Lovely Home

Now I am here 90 years old -- what has my journey of life been? My family has wanted me to write something about my past. After my parents died in the early ’30’s, I wished that I had asked them about their past.

When you are young, you don’t think about that -- so here I’ve written some highlights to share with you.

As I was thinking, it occurred to me that the number “9” appeared to be significant -- I was born 1909, I came to California in 1929, my husband Ronald died May 9th and my room number is 109, and now it is 1999.

I was born in a log house in Manitoba Canada. It was so cold that the bed linen froze to the wall, my Mother told me. 1903 my parents immigrated from Iceland with 5 children: 2 boys - 3 girls - one is my sister Thora here now 102 years. They home steaded in a farming community 12 miles from Lundar town and not too far from Lake Manitoba where they could fish. My Dad’s sister and family had come a few years before and helped my parents get started with mixed farming -- it was a period of hardship for a while getting settled, but later things got better and 3 more children were added now 4 girls and 4 boys, now 3 of us are left.

Mother was a busy lady. She baked bread in a wood stove, sewed clothes, knitted from the wool of the sheep -- socks, mitts and even long johns. She taught us sisters all facets of homemaking and how to knit and sew for the cold winters.

Sadly, we all had a limited education as finances were not available to send us away to school. My Dad was a carpenter and cabinet maker, so after a few years, with the help of sons and neighbors, a new frame house was built. All of us children had farm chores to do according to age -- I had to milk 1 cow before walking 3 miles to school and when the weather was bad and Mother didn’t let us go to school, I cried. We all helped with the gardening and during haying season.

Mother was a Lutheran and Dad a Unitarian. When I was small, they had church services in our home and when they sang hymns, I cried, it must have been too somber!

At the age of 13 I was confirmed in Icelandic in a Lutheran Church 3 miles from home and I have remained faithful, now over 50 years in 1st Lutheran in Glendale.

We left the farm in 1927. Mother and Dad moved to town. At the age of 16, I went to work as a house maid in a grain growing district and after 6 months I left and went to Winnipeg to learn hairdressing. In 1929 my sister Thora and I came to L.A. to visit our sister Kristine who had lived here with her husband for 5 years. We intended to return to Canada, but got work and stayed on.

I got my California license and worked in a beauty shop for 35 cents an hour. Later I got part-time work in a restaurant where I met Ronald my husband. I used to take the street car to work, but one night it was raining and Ron took me home in an old Maxwell car, I was so grateful I kissed him on the cheek!! That did it!!

Ron came from Nebraska, had been working in different coffee shops and I told him I couldn’t marry him til he had a secure job. So he rented a small lunch counter and we were married in 1933. He earned enough to prepay the house we were renting - a small rear house that cost $15 a month. We furnished it with second-hand furniture that cost $75. Then the big earthquake hit and we watched the front house lose its chimney.

However the counter failed -- it was depression time. Then he found a job as manager in a hamburger counter where he fried hamburgers in the front window where passers-by could watch. That was right in downtown L.A. at Broadway and 42nd street. There he made enough money to prepay the Doctor bill of $75.00 as I was expecting our first child - our daughter Gloria, who had curly dark hair and weighed 10 lb. Two years later, son Kenneth came, not quite that big -- then some tough years followed until ’43 we acquired the Martha Washington Restaurant without any down payment -- these were the war years, then our “bonus” baby-boy David was born. So now we were blessed with three beautiful children and business was good and now we were finally secure financially.

We sold the restaurant after 15 years of hard work -- soon Ron got a job with the IRS. It was ’58 when we drove to Annapolis to attend Kenneth’s graduation from the Naval Academy. We also enjoyed seeing Gloria graduate from Redlands University and David from Cal State L.A. So I’m proud of them and 7 grandchildren and extended family. And grateful to God for 58 years together with Ron.

I feel blessed in many ways and each day is a gift from God to be treasured from here on and at the present I am satisfied and happy among many friends at Windsor Manor.

So here I am by the grace of God and I am very thankful to HIM.

IN THE 12 1/2 YEARS SINCE SHE WROTE THIS, AMMA BECAME A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER 9 TIMES OVER. THE TENTH BABY IS DUE IN FEBRUARY AND WE ASSUME THAT THE BABY WILL ARRIVE WITH ANGEL KISSES FROM BOTH GREAT-GRANDMAS.

Now it's TIME for the GIVEAWAY

I was super excited when David told me he wanted to send me a Quilt Lover's Heart and I knew just what I wanted to do with it. So, I asked him if he wouldn't mind if I had a giveaway for all of my reader's. I really appreciate your wonderful comments and for checking in with me from time to time. Keep the comments coming. . . I love hearing from you!

Here's the Grand PRIZE

(1) Quilt Lover's Heart

Because this is a really really special giveaway I'm going to have to make everyone work a little bit but, remember that entering the giveaway is totally optional and you can do (1) request or all (5) requests for a maximum of (10) chances to win.

Here's what you need to do. . .

FIRST: I want you to write, call, or email your Mother and tell her how much you love and appreciate her. This counts for (1) entry. Now if she's passed on like our mom's then maybe you could call, write, or email your sister, your aunt, your grandmother, or even your best friend and then tell them how much you love them. This would be a SWEET way to spread the love.

SECOND: I want you to go to David's Website, look around, and then come back and leave me a separate comment telling me which heart is your favorite for another (1) entry. Click HERE and then once you're there click on the bottom bar of hearts that says Lover's Hearts.

THIRD: You can Blog, facebook, or twitter about the give away for another (1) entry. Just remember to come back and leave me another separate comment. Thanks for your help in spreading the news.

FOURTH: If you ARE or you BECOME a Follower of my blog leave another separate comment for another (1) entry.

FIFTH: Now, here's your BIG CHANCE. . . if you decide to make a purchase on David's Website you will be entered an additional (6) times. Just leave me (6) separate comments telling me you purchased any of his Lover's Hearts. I will then verify with David on purchases made. Think of this as your bonus chance to win a second heart that you could keep or give to a friend.

The Giveaway will be open until the 16th of August at midnight. I will then pick the winner through random.org the next day and post about it soon after.

I called my Mother recently. She's in nursing care and does best conversing at night. I write and send her a card along with a few pictures every two weeks. I just mailed her a card yesterday along with two pictures of us at Schlitterbahn (water park).

talked to my mom, she is 90 and still lives at home on her 18 acre farm. <3 and I fell in love with the music heart, so family and music are my favorite hearts. (but I already commented on my fav, so I will include it here)

I just got off the phone with my mother and after her listening to her complain about her electric bill for 20 minutes, I still told her how much she means to me.Thanks for the opportunity to enter your giveaway for the beautiful Quilt Lover's Heart!

I emailed my sweet Aunt JoAnn since she's always been a second mother to me (my own mother passed 16 years ago) and made sure that she knew how much I love and appreciate her! Thanks for giving me another excuse to tell her how much she means to me.

I went to David's website and I actually like the family one in silver best. I had contacted him previously when you first posted about him and asked him if he could do a heart in each of my sweet grandbabies names and he said he could! I don't get the extra entries for that though bz I can't afford to order them for a couple of months but I definitely plan to and he was so nice in his email back to me.

I can't call my mother because she has passed away and my last remaining grandparent (Dad's mom) passed away this morning at 99. I did tell my step-mom I loved her this morning after she called to tell me about grandma...

Oh man I love his site. Can't figure out how I have never seen his work before! I can't narrow it down to a favorite heart. The quilt is a for sure must have, I also like Stitchin, photography, books (the multiple one), family and faith.

Tried to become a follower, but I just keep getting a message that says "unable to process your request. Try again later". I will try again later, but I do read your blog all the time, and have had you linked on the sidebar of my blog for a long time :) Hope that's good enough!

Hi Kim,I am visiting my parents right now - I have been here since Sunday and we have been having a lovely time together. My mother is one of my dearest friends and is always supportive.I loved reading about your mothers. David's mother is the same age as my dad's mother would have been. She had a very short life- she died when she was 42. Unfortunately I did not know her.Thanks for the chance to win such a beautiful piece of jewelery. I think David does gorgeous work.Regards from Western Canada,Anna

I talk to my mother frequently, but she has Alzheimer's. It is usually a one way conversation. We both talk, it's just that what she says doesn't always make sense. I do believe that she still understands I love you.

I texted my sister...LOL she never answers her phone ...but she does save her heart felt texts by emailing them to herself. I am a follower and I love stopping by...this was a wonderful post and am so glad I read it!Thanks,Debbie

Being pretty sick with systemic poison ivy and allergic hives to the medicines used to treat it, I can't stay at the computer long enough to do any of the requested things (and my mother has been gone since 1989), but I do want to tell you I enjoyed reading about your two mothers. Oh....I am a follower, so I guess that counts for one thing...right? :) Back to resting now...

This is just so sweet Kim. My own Mom passed away over 30 years ago, and I have no sisters or grandmothers or aunts left. I do tell my BFF how much she means to me every time we talk or write. So I hope that counts. You are very blessed to have had both Mothers for such a long time.

I read your blog in Google Reader and saw the quilt heart for the first time when you blogged about it. My mother passed away in 2003 but my older sister is still alive and her birthday is in the beginning of September, So, I visited David's website and ordered the SISTER heart necklace for her. The service was wonderful--I received the heart the next week.

I just found your blog the other day. Loved the post about mothers. I had a hip replacement a year ago and am still having problems. My 82 year old Mom and Dad came over to help me for a long time. Don't know what i'll do without them, but for now i'm thankful for her love everyday. I love to quilt!Thanks!

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January 19-26, 2011

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Some Thoughts I Try to Live By:

“Those that are flexible never get bent out of shape.”“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”“If your LOT in life is empty . . . put a SERVICE station on it.”“When you have a problem, GO TO WORK”“We are the Creators of our Own Happiness.”“Seek Him . . . Find Him . . . Follow Him.”